ELM Companies

A LEADER IN PROVIDING INTEGRATED COMPLIANCE SERVICES AND ENERGY SOLUTIONS

ELM COMPANIES

A Utility Transformation With evolution at the fore, executives at ELM Companies discuss the company’s journey over the past two decades Writer: Sean Galea-Pace | Project Manager: David Knott

E

volution. Without it, a company would stagnate.

Its importance, particularly in 2021 on the back of a disruptive year for most firms, is key.

And despite COVID-19’s unwelcome introduction, Josh Hinrichs, President of ELM Companies, has seen tremendous growth in business over the past year. He has served in his 2 | North America Outlook issue 02

Josh Hinrichs

current position since 2013 while seeing the organization emerge as a renowned player in the energy and utilities industry during that time.

“The business has certainly grown tremendously. In fact, it has more than tripled in size from when I started in 2001,” he explains.

“The utilities that we serve and work with have changed over the years

ENERGY & UTILITIES

and have become more demanding in the services and solutions they require. This has provided us with an opportunity to differentiate ourselves within the sector and heightened our ability to broaden product and service offerings while helping our clients achieve their goals.”

Although Hinrichs believes that the number of rivals in the utility

services space over the past 20 years has diminished, the competition for business from those still active in the space remains fierce.

“In the utilities services industry, there’s been a lot of consolidation,” affirms Hinrichs. “When I first joined, we had lots of competitors operating in the same space in damage prevention and utility service work in

general. That space has really shrunk in terms of the number of companies operating within it, but the level of competitiveness remains the same.”

ELM operates a number of flagship products, such as the LaunchPoint™ Logistics and Mobility software, FieldSight™ Control Systems, MicroGrid and Energy Storage Packages.

North America Outlook issue 02 | 3

LEAD YOUR FLEET INTO THE FUTURE In an increasingly crowded world, Shell is evolving to help people and goods move around more cleanly and efficiently. To support your fleet as it adapts to new technologies and fuel types, Shell Fleet Solutions provides a range of innovative products and mobility services.

Shell Fleet Navigator Card

Shell Fleet Maintenance Hub

Alternative Fuels

Shell Telematics

Greenlots EV Charging Solutions

Email us at fleetsolutions@shell.com

to learn how we can help prepare your fleet for the future.

Shell® and Shell Fleet Navigator® are trademarks of Shell Trademark Management B.V. 2020 © Shell Trademark Management B.V. reserves all rights not expressly granted herein.

SOLUTIONS FOR YOUR ENERGY NEEDS TODAY AND IN THE FUTURE. Shell can keep your business moving with sustainable energy solutions. With products like electricity, hydrogen, and biofuels, Shell can help design a sustainable plan for any business.

Carbon Offsets Compensate your carbon emissions

Sonnen Powering your life with smart, clean and safe home energy systems

Shell Telematics Shell Telematics provides actionable insights into how your fleet operates and can help decrease your fleet's total cost of ownership

TapUp TapUp mobile refuelling saves time and money and improves environmental credentials by delivering cleaner fuels New Fuels Biofuels to fuel your fleet

Distributed Energies & Shell Energy Inside Providing local energy assets which connect customers to cleaner, more affordable and more resilient energy

Fleet Solutions One partner for all your fleet mobility solutions Greenlots Providing EV drivers with easy-to-use smart charging solutions on the go, at business locations and scale residential sites

Hydrogen Clean, zero CO2, fuel for fleets, cars and buses

Shell Energy & MP2 More efficient and cleaner energy solutions for business

Email us at fleetsolutions@shell.com to start preparing your business for the future.

ELM COMPANIES ELM FieldSight’s Microgrid site controller uses best-in-class hardware in combination with sophisticated backend architecture and communication interfaces to enable efficient monitor and control of microgrid assets through a single portal. Its efficient microgrid solutions allow customers to maximize their green energy consumption and resiliency needs.

Whereas, LaunchPoint’s CaaS IoT solution in the industrial, manufacturing and food industries utilizes the Dell IoT Edge Gateway powered by LaunchPoint Edge Software and the LaunchPoint Cloud to enable automated compliance, monitoring and reporting.

“We are best described as a technology company that provides compliance products and services across a wide spectrum,” explains Hinrichs.

“Within that technology spectrum, FieldSight is one vertical and LaunchPoint is another. Within LaunchPoint, it’s the logistics, mobile data collection and compliance monitoring side of the house, while with FieldSight it is microgrid and energy storage.”

Hinrichs believes that each of the company’s flagship products complement the other well.

“The reason they work so well is that the touchpoints are fantastic,” he explains. “There are common clients within the utility space, and both product lines penetrate many other markets in North America and worldwide.”

“Every utility provider needs compliance services. To provide them, you must have a good mobile platform to manage the workforce, workload and documentation of the work that we’re conducting. Being able to produce that documentation to regulatory agencies that require it is key to the utility clients we serve.”

Concerning Microgrid and Energy Storage products, ELM does a 6 | North America Outlook issue 02

ELM COMPANIES: SERVICES UTILITIES COMPLIANCE SERVICES ELM’s Utility Service offerings have been provided to firms that source their locating, leak survey and other compliance needs to companies that understand the importance of the task at hand and are willing to accept responsibility of protecting the infrastructure and public. ELM’s clients trust the organization to provide high-level, compliance related services that enable them to grow steadily over the years.

INSURANCE PRODUCTS AND SERVICES Since 2004, ELM Insurance Services has been a specialty construction and environmental insurance brokerage providing comprehensive risk management packages nationwide. The organization is continuously working with clients to develop innovative solutions for complex construction risks, environmental sites, healthcare facilities, manufacturing, emerging technology, clean energy, microgrid, and distributed energy storage and compliance as service offerings.

FIELDSIGHT PRODUCTS AND SERVICES ELM FieldSight is a line of products that has been created to provide MicroGrid Site Controllers and Energy Storage Systems that are designed to operate across a large spectrum from in-home applications to very large commercial and industrial sites.

LAUNCHPOINT PRODUCTS AND SERVICES In 2004, ELM created its own in-house work management system known as LaunchPoint. Since then, LaunchPoint has become a suite of products created to connect field related data & events to the entire organization.

Clients can use the mobile applications for worker interface or continuous monitoring products to interface with devices and sensors, which makes interface, data collection, reporting and decision-making quicker and more efficient.

tremendous amount of work behind the meter but they are starting to see an increasing demand for integrated solutions into the utility infrastructure

as they utilize greener energy products more and look to localize energy storage as a grid resiliency strategy.

T

ransport is essential to modern living. It drives economic growth, allowing countries to trade goods and communities to connect with one another. In an increasingly crowded world, the energy industry is innovating to help people and goods move around more cleanly and efficiently.

At Shell, we see a variety of fuels and engines developing; some will be suited to short journeys within urban areas, while others could be better for longer journeys between cities. A range of lowand zero-emission options are available today, but each are at different stages of readiness for commercial use.

News of the rapid and far-reaching changes transforming the commercial fleet industry is hard to escape. In twenty years’ time, the commercial fleet landscape is going to be almost completely unrecognizable to anyone working in the industry today.

With batteries able to power vehicles for long distance still in development, fleet managers will have to find the right mix of alternative fuels for their organization’s needs.

What managers may not appreciate, is that cost is a lesser issue than they imagine it to be.

A 2017 study by UBS found that the total cost of ownership for an electric vehicle in Europe would be no more than for a standard petrol or diesel vehicle by 2018. China will reach cost parity by 2023 and the USA by 2025. Research

by Bloomberg indicates that electric vehicles will even be cheaper to buy within seven years or less.

Sustainability at Shell means providing more and cleaner energy solutions in a responsible way. Only by creating greater fuel efficiency and adopting a mix of cleaner fuels can we, as a society, hope to decarbonize our increasingly energy-hungry economies. By the same token, only with a range of fuels can fleet managers meet the needs of all users, from short-hop urban delivery drivers to long-haul heavy-goods haulers.

Businesses that start future-proofing their fleets now will be able to integrate new technologies and fuel types faster than their competitors. To learn how Shell can prepare your fleet for today and the future, contact Shell at fleetsolutions@ shell.com.

Most fleet managers recognize the need to adapt to the energy challenge, reduce the environmental impact of their operations, and adopt new, environmentally friendly fuels. In fact, Shell’s survey of fleet managers found that 28 percent would introduce electric vehicles to their fleets today if cost was no option. A further 26 percent would adopt vehicles powered by other alternative fuels.

fleetsolutions@shell.com

ELM COMPANIES

Lee Graves, Chairman and Founder “That’s where the overlap is nice because having that diverse product stream enables us to become less of a commodity-based service provider and more of a strategic service and product provider to the utility. We’re more of a one-stop shop than some of our competitors are.”

Since its launch in 2007, ELM FieldSight has evolved its systems and undergone a significant transformation during that time.

According to Lee Graves, ELM Chairman and Founder, “In the beginning our focus was offering control to behind the meter microgrids that sit on the customer’s side of the utility meter.”

“It has changed tremendously under the leadership of our COO, Aron Bowman and his team,” Graves explains.

According to Bowman, “Our original offering was focused on back-up generator control and monitoring. At the time, the focus was primarily on helping the owners of back-up generators ensure they were complying with EPA Air Emissions Standards. There was a solution we offered that allowed those back-up generation systems to improve air emissions outputs and turn them from emergency back-up generation to demand response generation.

“In other words, if a utility was 8 | North America Outlook issue 02

having a rolling brown-out and our clients needed to take themselves off the grid for a few hours at a time, the emissions coming out of their generators were good enough where that was possible. In terms of compliance, our clients had to prove to the EPA that their generator emissions were compliant during the entire run cycle, so we would monitor and capture that information and report back to the owner of the asset and EPA. That was where Compliance as a Service (CaaS) started for us.”

Now, ELM FieldSight operates in a far more advanced way and Bowman believes it has been quite a journey over the past 14 years.

“Today, we build a very Aron Bowman, COO, ELM FieldSight robust microgrid controller capable of handling complete microgrid functionality,” he explains.

“This means we are capable of controlling the generator, the green energy supply and, of course, our energy storage packages that contain the batteries and other equipment necessary to provide a continuous and reliable power source. Our controller is also capable of interfacing with a utility or functioning completely independent of the grid by utilizing very sophisticated algorithms that allow the solution to be infinitely flexible and run indefinitely.”

With COVID-19 continuing to cause disruption the world over, ELM leveraged its LaunchPoint platform to develop a COVID system screening app that has proven useful to school systems, athletic training facilities and youth service organizations across North America.

“It’s been vital because it has essentially allowed them to remain open,” affirms Hinrichs.

“It has put the power of tracking COVID symptoms easily into the hands of the students, athletes,

Payday Payday Takes Your Business to the Next Level Unpredictable seasons, benefit options, compliance policies and payroll management can make growing your business overwhelming.

But despite all of these obstacles, your business doesn’t just have to survive, it can flourish and thrive!

That’s where Payday—a professional employer organization—comes in.

From providing comprehensive employee benefits packages, to HR compliance, payroll administration, workers’ compensation and safety and risk management services, Payday focuses on all the complicated areas so you can focus on growing your business.

In fact, research shows that businesses who partner with Payday: • Grow 7–9 percent faster.

• Lower turnover by 10–14 percent.

• Lower business failure up to 50 percent.

Here’s how we do it: 1. Reduce your costs.

We help you contain and reduce your overall employee-related administrative costs.

2. Transfer your risks.

We handle the risks of many employment-related exposures.

3. Expand your HR team.

Improve compliance and gain a team of experts in HR, payroll, benefits, safety and workers’ compensation.

4. Strengthen your culture.

With simplified processes and employee training, you’ll have happier employees, which means less turnover.

Whether you’re a small, medium or large business, Payday provides Fortune-500 level benefits, payroll and HR services. And we save you time and money while doing it!

See how much we can save you.

Request your FREE price quote at paydayhr.com/quote or call 850.912.8884.

paydayhr.com

Through Fortune-500 level benefits, payroll and HR services, we eliminate the complexities of growing your business.

HR • Workers’ Comp • Safety & Risk • Benefits • Payroll

Corporate Headquarters:

4490 North W Street, Pensacola, FL 32505

Web: paydayhr.com

Phone: 850.912.8884

ELM COMPANIES parents and teachers. The same model we use within our work management products were utilized here. We enable users to securely collect symptom data in a mobile setting and send it to the cloud. From there the school or organization can easily produce reports that demonstrate compliance with COVID protocols to the county Health Department, enabling them to remain open.”

To most companies, the importance of developing key, strategic supplier partnerships is essential to sustained success. For Hinrichs, it’s a statement he truly believes and admits his firm couldn’t operate without them.

“They’re extremely important,” says Hinrichs. “Looking at our service sector, we’ve got almost 1,000 vehicles across North America. We rely heavily on our partnership with John Robinson and his team at Shell Fleet Solutions to keep those vehicles moving every day.

“We are pleased to be supporting ELM through our Fleet Navigator Program. Our goal at Shell Fleet Solutions is to build long lasting partnerships, with companies like

10 | North America Outlook issue 02

ELM, who see the value of working together to make us both better and stronger as a result! The relationship has strengthened over time and we are positioned very well to support their continued growth in the coming years,” says John Robinson, Midwest Region Manager for Shell Fleet Solutions.

“We also have a number of locating supply vendors that have been operating in a just-in-time environment during the past year, particularly in terms of shipping.

We’ve been fortunate to have an excellent procurement department to stay on top of things and we are grateful to those suppliers who’ve partnered with us to keep things rolling during that time.”

In particular, Hinrichs points to his company’s relationship with Vivax-Metrotech as being influential and believes the relationship and understanding he has with the company’s President, Mark Drew, is unique and unlike anything he has experienced in the industry before.

“We rely heavily on Vivax for various pieces of equipment to support our service offerings. One of them is Vivax’s underground locator vLoc3-Pro series,” he explains. “The transparency that we have with them is fantastic. They have been accommodating in so many different ways. They listen to us and our requirements and the level of trust and rapport that we have is unique.”

“What is also important to us is the technological advancement, such as RTK GNSS integration, that is being integrated into their equipment, allowing us to develop tools for the increased focus of improving mapping of underground utilities across North America. Vivax Metrotech is critical to our ability to provide traditional locate services and enhance our ability to differentiate

ENERGY & UTILITIES

from the competition as we continue to develop specialized service offerings.”

Over the next 18 months, Hinrichs has outlined key priorities that his firm is targeting.

“We really have three targets in mind over the next couple of years,” he explains.

“We want to expand our microgrid and energy storage business. We know there is going to be a dramatic increase in demand for renewable energy sources and along with that, there will be a need for microgrid controllers and energy storage systems. We strongly believe the packages that we provide in the commercial, industrial, utility and residential spaces are among the best available. We are currently building another manufacturing facility near Dallas, TX to dramatically increase production capacity and meet increasing demand.”

MicroGrid Site Controllers and Energy Storage Systems are designed to operate across a large spectrum from in-home applications to very large commercial/industrial sites “We also want to focus on growing our software sales within LaunchPoint. Work management and logistics becomes more important each year and our specialized apps make mobile interface and data collection more affordable and efficient. Our goal is to expand product utilization in the construction industry and continue crossover into other service provider markets as well.

If a company has mobile workers who complete service orders, we have a solution to support them.

“And finally, in the utility service space, we are going to continue expansion of our diversified offerings.

Our bread and butter is locating and damage prevention services but we intend to continue expanding our

market share of other compliance services, with a specific focus on gas leak survey and sophisticated mapping services. We have some very large clients out there and they have a variety of compliance services needs. We intend to continue leveraging our in-house technology to offer a wider and more strategic range of services to these companies.”

ELM COMPANIES Tel: 888-728-9343 info@elmllc.com www.elmllc.com

North America Outlook issue 02 | 11

ELM COMPANIES 3021 Palmer Street, Suite C, Missoula, MT 59808 Tel: 888-728-9343 info@elmllc.com www.elmllc.com www.golaunchpoint.com www.elmmicrogrid.com

PRODUCED BY NORTH AMERICA OUTLOOK MAGAZINE